Revive a Crabapple

Kane_

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Hi 👋

so this crabapple started to flower for a short period and the the leaves start to wilt and turn brown as pictured. It was well watered and in full sun… The last image shows new budding in the trunk which can only be a good sign, right? Will the branches survive and will this tree get a second flush?
 

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Kanorin

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What kind of soil is it in? When was it wired? When did the leaves start to wilt/brown?
 

Kane_

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What kind of soil is it in? When was it wired? When did the leaves start to wilt/brown?
I bought the tree in February already wired I’m not sure what soil it’s in. The leaves started to wilt about the beginning of April
 

Shibui

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It was well watered and in full sun…
There's well watered and there's well watered. A potted plant is not well watered just by spraying with water. It is only well watered when the soil is wet right through.
I guess from the question you are a relative beginner so chances are you have not yet learned all the nuances of watering bonsai.
The symptoms definitely look like dehydration.

Water tends to run round a dry root ball rather than soaking through. We assume it is well watered because water runs out the bottom of the pot, right? Often only the outer edge of soil has been wet. Each day the tree takes more water out of the root ball which does not get replaced. Eventually there's just not enough water in the soil to last all day. Typical signs are brown leaves after the first few hot days in spring. Full sun only exacerbates the problem.
Try watering the pot 3 times in a row with a short break between applications. Each time water soaks in a little further.

Trees that are root bound are also harder to water. As roots fill the pot there's less and less room for water to penetrate. After a few years it can get so bad that the pot just cannot hold enough water to last all day no matter how well it is watered.

I recommend beginners to soak the pot once a week to ensure that soil is properly wet occasionally. that will help overcome deficiencies in watering technique.
 

Kane_

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There's well watered and there's well watered. A potted plant is not well watered just by spraying with water. It is only well watered when the soil is wet right through.
I guess from the question you are a relative beginner so chances are you have not yet learned all the nuances of watering bonsai.
The symptoms definitely look like dehydration.

Water tends to run round a dry root ball rather than soaking through. We assume it is well watered because water runs out the bottom of the pot, right? Often only the outer edge of soil has been wet. Each day the tree takes more water out of the root ball which does not get replaced. Eventually there's just not enough water in the soil to last all day. Typical signs are brown leaves after the first few hot days in spring. Full sun only exacerbates the problem.
Try watering the pot 3 times in a row with a short break between applications. Each time water soaks in a little further.

Trees that are root bound are also harder to water. As roots fill the pot there's less and less room for water to penetrate. After a few years it can get so bad that the pot just cannot hold enough water to last all day no matter how well it is watered.

I recommend beginners to soak the pot once a week to ensure that soil is properly wet occasionally. that will help overcome deficiencies in watering technique.
 

Kane_

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Your assumption is correct, I’m very new to bonsai. I think I’ve been concerned about over watering and may have misjudged this one.

thank you for the information and delivering it without condescension unlike others I have experienced here.

Do you think it’s just a case of keep watering and hope for the best?

thanks again
 

SeanS

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I bought the tree in February already wired I’m not sure what soil it’s in. The leaves started to wilt about the beginning of April
What does the soil look like? Does it look like organic potting soil, or like small stones/granules? Inorganic soils (that look like small stone granules) is free draining and allows oxygen to pass through it and around the roots. Organic potting soil type soils stay very wet and don’t allow the roots to breath
 

Shibui

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Do you think it’s just a case of keep watering and hope for the best?
I have seen trees come back after looking real dead so there is always hope.
Particularly with dehydration, plants progressively shut down and drop leaves to save on water use hoping the drought will end before they finally die.

Soak the pot properly then continue care but with better watering habit. Note that it may not need as much water. While there are no leaves to draw water out you only need to replace evaporation.
I generally retain some hope for 2 or 3 months after dehydration as it can take some time for new buds to emerge.

Good luck.
 

sorce

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I blame it on the wire.

You try to get it off yet?

It doesn't look "normal". I'd want to get it off, or try to get it off to know when it MUST come off it will be possible, or still possible.

Sorce
 

penumbra

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I blame it on the wire.

You try to get it off yet?

It doesn't look "normal". I'd want to get it off, or try to get it off to know when it MUST come off it will be possible, or still possible.

Sorce
Not sure the wire is responsible and not sure it isn't. But I am sure its gotta go.
 

Dav4

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Crab apples are tough as nails but are very prone to insect damage. With wire damage, you should be able to see disruption in the cambium of the dead branching, as in a break in the bark. If you don't see that, look for small piles of frass that might indicate borers have been tunneling through the cambium under the bark. Based on this picture... 1653224367012.png... the trunk is still alive as you have new growth pushing. While I agree that the wiring isn't helping, excessive and very sloppy (you should take a picture to remind yourself how NOT to wire), taking the wire off now may damage those newly emerging buds, which may represent this tree's only future. If a branch is dry with crispy leaves, it's dead and I'd remove the wire and branch in one go. If the branch is alive with new growth, I'd leave it alone until the new growth has hardened off, then remove the wire.
 

penumbra

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I agree that removing wire Could cause damage, but there is no reason why it Should cause damage. Leaving it could and probably Will cause damage. It is very simple to simple cut of all the wire in short pieces causing no damage at all. Most of use have done this.
 

TomB

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As OP is in Yorkshire, boring insects are very unlikely. It's just not a problem we often have in the UK.
The tree looks as though it is in standard nursery potting mix, in a cut-down nursery pot. I'd suspect over-watering is more likely to be a problem than under-watering, based on the current appearance of the soil surface. @Dav4 's advice on the wire is good.
 

penumbra

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I believe removing the wire Carefully will reduce overall stress on the plant. It is definitely the course I would take and have taken, but I am curious as to other opinions.
 

Dav4

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I believe removing the wire Carefully will reduce overall stress on the plant. It is definitely the course I would take and have taken, but I am curious as to other opinions.
The wire was apparently placed on the tree at least 3-4 months ago which tells me, unless the wire is actually cutting into the bark, the damage is done and removing the wire at this point wouldn't help and would potentially be counter productive as any manipulation could damage new budding or fragile new root growth in a compromised root system. Sometimes the best path forward is to do nothing...
 

Deep Sea Diver

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Well… hmm this a conundrum. I agree the cells in the tree damaged by the bending should of reformed by now. Concerned that there was so much damage that the upper regions of the tree sap flow was interrupted …likely permanently. Yet the tree could of been over watered. Whatever.

Keeping the wire on at this moment is the safe bet, however I’m wondering what it would be like if the epicormic buds further up the trunk begin to progressively (as they should) form in the maze of wiring. Then the wire would have to remain longer due to fear of damaging those buds, etc. Wouldn’t there be some point, not now, that the poorly and massively applied wire biting in would cause more damage then it was worth keeping in place?

At that point conceivably, knowing crabs pretty well, one might have extreme difficulty taking of the wire between tender branchlets compared to the present.

Don’t know how good OP is with cutting wire, but my inclination is, if he’s good with fine work, to take wire off the section above the sprouting section. Then if that goes well slowly get rid of the rest.

Anyways, my thoughts.

cheers
DSD sends
 

Kane_

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What does the soil look like? Does it look like organic potting soil, or like small stones/granules? Inorganic soils (that look like small stone granules) is free draining and allows oxygen to pass through it and around the roots. Organic potting soil type soils stay very wet and don’t allow the roots to breath
Just looks like normal soil. I dod think about repotting it but I know this is usually done late autumn/early spring.
 

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